Distribution and abundance of uricase-producing bacteria in soils

Thirty-six bacterial strains were isolated from 25 soil samples collected from several localities in Damietta. Soil composition had an effect on the magnitude of bacterial flora. The total count was higher in non-cultivated soils. The isolated species were tested for their uric acid degradation ability, then investigated for their uricolytic activity

Environmental factors affecting urease production by penicillium funiculosum 258

Maximum urease synthesis was obtained by the fungus Penicillium funiculosum 258 when grown on medium containing urea as sole nitrogen source at concentration of 0.5% and 1% glucose as carbon source adjusted to pH 6 and inoculated with 10% previously prepared inoculum in shaked culture with 4: 1 air medium ratio for 3 days incubation. Urease production by the tested fungus required addition of thiamine and biotin to the culture medium at concentrations of 0.001%. The enzyme activity of the formulated medium increased from 15.3 mu/ml to 29.65% mu/ml and the enzyme productivity also increased from 3.31 to 8.97 mu/mg dry weight

Caeseorhodomycin, a new antibiotic produced by abacteria strain isolated from Egyptian soil

Streptomyces caesius var. Egyptiaca, isolate No. 203, was found to produce a reddish-pink pigment which extracted from the culture filtrate by n-butanol at pH 7, chromatographically purified and obtained as a reddish-violet pink powder. The bioautography of this purified substance concluded that it exhibited strong antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive bacteria [B. megaterium and Staph. aureus]. The biological and physicochemical characteristics [elementary analysis], UV, IR, NMR and mass spectrum] of this purified secondary metabolite were investigated and accordingly the present antibiotic pigment was identified as a new antibiotic belonging to anthracycline group and for which the name, Caeseorhodomycin, was epitheted belonging

Demethyltetracycline biosynthesis by streptomyces aureofaciens sub-species viridulaus as influenced by medium composition

The influence of different nutritional compounds on demethyltetracycline by Streptomyces aureofaciens subspecies viridulaus was examined. Of the variety of carbon sources, nitrogen and phosphorus compounds tested; fructose, sodium nitrate and sodium dihydrogen phosphate supported the highest demethyltetracycline production. The addition of ferrous sulfate and nicotinamide [as trace element and vitamin, respectively] stimulated the biosynthesis of the antibiotic. In the majority of cases, the biomass yield ran parallel with the antibiotic production

Biosynthesis of demethyltetracycline by a strain of streptomyces

Streptomyces aureofaciens sub-species viridulaus [isolate No. MN 27] was found to produce a yellowish orange pigment. This pigment was extracted from the fermentation medium by chloroform at neutral pH [pH 7], chromatographically purified and obtained as orange powder. The purified pigmented substance exhibits a strong antimicrobial activity towards Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria [MIC =200, 50, 5, 100, 35 ug/ml against B. Subtilis, B. Megaterium, B. Cereus, Athrobacter simplex, and E. coli, respectively]. The physicochemical characteristics of the purified substance were investigated and accordingly the present antibiotic pigment was identified as a new antibiotic belonging to tetracycline group of antibiotics having indicator properties for which the name demethyltetracycline was suggested

Leprosy: an unexpected presentation

A case of a 70 years-old Kuwaiti woman was presented with severe epistaxis. Physical examination was unremarkable for skin lesions or facial deformities. Nasal examination revealed nasal hypoalgesia and bleeding from a localized mass. Histological examination of the excised mass revealed granuloma and modified Zeil-Nelson stain confirmed the presence of mycobacterium leprae. In this patient, nasal hypoalgesia, epistaxis, and the localized nasal granuloma were the only manifestations of an active infectious disease

Effect of benzyl adenine on growth, pigments and productivity of soybean plants

Relatively low concentration of benzyl adenine [50 and 100 ppm] significantly increased the plant height, number of nodes and leaves, leaf area, number of flowers as well as the fresh and dry weights of shoots. On the other hand, the highest dose of benzyl adenine [200 ppm] significantly decreased the plant height and the leaf area. At the used concentrations [50, 100 and 200 ppm], benzyl adenine enhanced the formation of chlorophylls and carotenoids. Foliar application of benzyl adenine showed that the weight of 100 seeds [seed index] was significantly increased by 100 and 200 ppm of benzyl adenine whereas variable effect on the other yield parameters were induced by the different levels of benzyl adenine. The relationships between either weight of seed per plant or weight of 100 seeds, as two measures of soybean yield and each of the other yield attributes of control and benzyl adenine-treated plants were studied using the simple correlation coefficient

Biological characteristics and taxonomy of bacteria belonging to the genus Streptomyces 1 Streptomycetes with Grey-coloured aerial mycelium

A number of 16 Streptomyces strains belonging to the Grey-series were classified on the basis of the criteria recommended by the ISP. Evidences were presented for the significance of certain additional physiological and biochemical tests in completing the description of strains or species

Biological characteristics and taxonomy of bacteria belonging to the genus Streptomyces 2 Streptomycetes with Yellow-Coloured aerial mycelium

A number of 13 experimental isolates of streptomycete were characterized by production of yellow-colored aerial mycelium and classified on the basis of the criteria recommended by the methods of ISP. The physiological and biochemical characteristics of the identified isolates can be considered to be useful in completing the description of a strain or species, even if they are not very significant or indicative on their own

Toxicity and antitumour activity of three novel antibiotics in relation to their effects on protein, DNA and RNA syntheses

The antimicrobial activity, toxicity and antitumor activity of three new antibiotics were investigated in conjunction with their effects on protein and nucleic acids synthesis of some bacterial strains. The new antibiotic vinaceomycin, did not show any toxic effect to normal Swiss albino mice at a concentration up to 500 mg/kg body weight, meanwhile it exhibited an in vivo antitumor effect against Ehrlich ascites tumor [33% increase in MST]. Both xanthominomycin and rubrominomycin which act as inhibitors of DNA synthesis, showed a very slight toxicity [10%] to normal Swiss albino mice at a concentration o f450mg/kg body weight but they did not show a significant antitumor effect against Ehrlich ascites tumor

Some metabolic changes in streptomyces olivaceus and streptomyces parvullus associated with amylase and protease production as affected by nutrient requirements III Effect of different inorganic phosphorous sources

In the majority of cases the dibasic salts appeared to be more favorable than the monobasic ones. Dipotassium phosphate support highest biomass yield and carbohydrate accumulation. The highest protein synthesis in both organisms was observed when culture media were supplemented by Na H2PO4 or [NH4]2 HPO4. The highest amylolytic and proteolytic activities in both strains was maintained when the media were containing K2HPO4 as posphorous source

Some metabolic changes in Streptomyces olivaceus and Streptomyces parvullus associated with amylase and Protease productions as affected by nutrient requirements IV Effect of microelements

The present results indicate that the biomass growth as well as the synthesis of intracellular protein were markedly stimulated by inclusion, in the medium, of Zn2+ or Ni2+ ons. Greater was the carbohydrate accumulation in the myceliat mats. The total carbohydrate content of the differently treated samples in relation ot the amount of sugar absorbed from the various media would indicate parallelism between the two processes, i.e. The higher the sugar uptake the greater was the carbohydrate accumulation in the mycelial mats. Zinc seemed to exert a stimulatory effect on amylase production by the experimental organisms. Lesser and least effect was exerted by iron and nickel respectively. Concerning the protease production by the two organisms, zinc sulfate, followed by ferrous sulfate were more effective than nickel sulfate